Montreal, January 7, 2010 – The MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels) rings in the new year in fine fashion as it welcomes you to the magical world of Fabrice Koffy and his performance Poésic, a rich and delicate universe where urban poetry and stirring musical sounds merge with revelry. This performance takes the stage for two nights only, January 15 and 16 at 8 pm.

When poetry enters new spaces

At the edge of poetry, music, and slam poetry, Poésic is based on its namesake album. As Poésic creates a mood of intimacy and intensity, the audience is taken on a journey through a wide range of landscapes, among dense lyrical work and inventive soundscapes. The brainchild of Fabrice Koffy and Guillaume Soucy, a Montreal-based composer and multi-instrumentalist, Poésic strays from the beaten path as it flirts with music and theatre. Fabrice sings, spouts, embodies his own words, his thoughts and memories, ranging from the severe to the frivolous, through four major themes: Africa, love, torment, and (self-) discovery. As Fabrice's silky voice rides Guillaume's exquisite notes and musical tableaus, the jazzy sounds of their gracious collaborators also make their entrance. Exclusive to this performance, Fabrice's Folie en 3D will also take the stage. This piece, first presented in May 2009, was co-created with Mexican-born dancer Gamaliel Martinez Fonseca, whose unique and fascinating vocabulary marries breakdancing with African, modern, and Afro-Brazilian dance, among others. Behold a new generation of Québec-based poets...

About Fabrice Koffy

Montreal-based and born in Ottawa, his roots are in Ivory Coast. Fabrice is a self-proclaimed "purveyor of words" and is guided by inquiry and discovery. A poet, he began writing as a teenager; as a man of the stage, he has been a member of the Kalmunity Collective for five years, and performs regularly with the Ligue québécoise de Slam (LIQS). In 2009, he was a guest performer at the Francofolies and Montreal International Jazz Festival. Poésic, his first album, was launched in June. A participant in the MAI's mentorship program, he created this performance during his stint as a resident artist.

Tickets for the show Poésic can be purchase at the MAI Box Office on 3680, Jeanne-Mance St., by phone (514) 982-3386, or online at http://ticket.boxxo.info/.

This program is sponsored by the ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine du Québec

and the Ville de Montréal as part of the Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal 2008-2011.